Model Halima Aden is giving black Muslim girls the visibility they deserve. Dec. 24, she tweeted out how she’s achieved success without sacrificing who she is.

“You can walk the red carpet, walk in fashion shows, and still be a cover girl while remaining true to yourself!” she wrote online, along with posting several of her high fashion covers for Allure, Vogue Arabia, Grazia, and CR Fashion Book.

You can walk the red carpet, walk in fashion shows, and still be a cover girl while remaining true to yourself 😘 pic.twitter.com/vOiKc42v8p

Born in a Kenyan UN refugee camp to Somali parents fleeing their home country in the early 1990s and relocating with her family to Minnesota when she was seven, Aden has always paved the way for more inclusion and diversity in beauty and fashion. When she competed in the 2016 Miss Minnesota USA pageant, she was the first contestant in America to compete while wearing a hijab. She’s also the first Muslim model to dress conservatively and wear a hijab while working.

“To understand the importance of representation you have to ask people who’ve never felt like they were represented fairly,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “For me, anytime I saw somebody who dressed like me in a movie, the character was someone oppressed. There was a narrative to it that didn’t match mine. Same thing with the news. Every time I saw somebody who looked like me, chances were they were doing something bad. Now, I get to represent my community to the majority.”

Bruno Mars and Cardi B have changed the game with their In Living Color tribute video for the “Finesse” remix. Yes, I’m gonna be that bold and write such a claim, solely on the fact that the video made it concrete that ’90s fashion is here to stay. ’90s fashion has been havinng a resurgence for a couple of years now, and between 2017 and 2018, late ’80s and early ’90s fashion have become an even stronger “cool kid” calling card, especially since brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Nauticaa are making tons of money with their vintage or vintage-leaning lines, like Tommy Jeans, FilaHeritage, and ReebokClassic and Nautica’s Lil Yachty collection, which brings back themes of ’90s Nautica. It’s either highly ironic or highly masterful that Bruno’s 24K Magic plays right into this trend.

So how can you get the look? Well, one way is to scour your local thrift stores and/or garages. Another way is to get ’90s-esque fashion from affordable (or at least “reasonable”) stores like Forever 21, Zara, Macy’s, J.C. Penney, etc. However, if you’re looking to go completely authentic while buying brand new clothes (and you have some expendable dollars to spend), here are some clothing choices from choice brands that were huge in the ’90s, but now use their ’90s cred to make boutique items.

One of the breakout fashion stars of the “Finesse” music video is Cardi B’s multicolored bomber jacket. It’s hard to tell if it’s actually vintage or if it’s of today, but regardless, it brings back tons of ’90s memories.

One of the ’90s brands that was big on multicolored jackets was Cross Colours. Believe it or not, Cross Colours is still in existence, making awesome jackets and shirts. Take for instance this colorblocked hooded jacket.

This jacket immediately takes you back to the early ’90s, which was not only big on bright colors, but also Afrocentrism. It’s more evident in some of Cross Colours’ other jackets, but this one also carries the same themes of Afrocentrism, with the emphasis on red, black, and green, the colors of the Pan-African flag.

Throughout the ’90s, particularly the mid-’90s, stripes were big. Striped hoodies in particular seemed really big. I couldn’t tell you why stripes were so popular, but they were; perhaps it’s because it seemed more modern than the deconstructivist/’80s art deco patterns that were slowly fading out. Stripes are a lot more streamlined than the busier patterns of earlier years, and maybe that hint of futurism poked at the burgeoning world of the internet. I don’t know, but it’s a theory.

In any case, the quintessential striped hoodie is showcased in rare form on Bruno as he exudes swagger and, yes, finesse, as the leader of this music video.

I feel like I’m a bit too young to remember Karl Kani as a name brand–the self-proclaimed “Originator of Urban Fashion” was established in 1989, one year after I was born–but that name was huge in the ’90s nonetheless, and judging by what the brand currently has for sale, it would seem that one of their specialties was the striped hoodie.

This hoodie, the Marcy Ave. Rugby Hoodie, has all of the things you want in a striped hoodie. It’s got bright colors, tons of interest, and it’s got short sleeves, perfect for that layered look Bruno is rocking in the above screenshot.

I wish hats could come back in style. One of the things I miss from the ’90s is the plethora of hats people wore on a semi-daily basis. The most popular proponent of ’90s hats was the titular character of Blossom, but hats were everywhere and on everyone, even on puppets–remember Jody from The Puzzle Place? She was a huge hat person. (The prime combo in the ’90s was the sun hat-flowery vest-long skirt combo. So much fabric, but it looked so cool.)

Between bucket hats, sun hats, baseball caps and all other manner of hats, there’s no way you can really go wrong when compiling a ’90s wardrobe. For this post, however, we’re focusing on the multicolored baseball cap, as shown on one of these dancers below.

Karl Kani comes correct again with their multicolored baseball cap, aptly called the “’90s Hat.”

This hat is pretty self-explanatory. It’s multicolored, it’s bright, it’s bold, and it screams ’90s. What more can you ask for?

The next component of quintessential ’90s fashion is mom jeans. I don’t know if they were called “mom jeans” back in the day–I just remember them as “jeans.” These jeans were not just popular with moms–they were popular for all women, even young teens. Just take a look at the fashion on the covers of The Babysitters Club books. They’re all wearing mom jeans.

Nowadays, mom jeans are coming back with a vengeance. Check out the stylish mom jeans on this dancer below.

Luckily for us, Jordache, the preeminent fashion jean brand, is still making mom jeans along with their more modern cuts.

The “Cheryl” High Waisted Mom Skinny Jeans are part of Jordache’s vintage line, and these pants give you everything you were asking for in a classic mom jean. It’s stone washed with a tapered leg, it’s got the classic high waist, and it looks like it’s just on this side of “cute.” It seems like the best mom jeans are just on the border between “cute and fashionable” and “horribly ill-fitting.” Just my opinion, anyways.

The last element of ’90s fashion I’m discussing in this post are the puffy sneakers. For some reason, sneakers are the mos vivid memories I have of ’90s fashion outside of all the Disney stuff I loved as a kid and the fashion tragedies I was subjected to (to this day, I hate stirrup pants). Perhaps it was because I was so connected to Michael Jordan’s career, like so many kids my age were, but I distinctly recall when the Air Jordans came out and the subsequent hype surrounding those shoes. Preceding that was the hype surrounding the Reebok Pump shoes. To this day, I still want both a pair of Air Jordans and Reebok Pumps. I still could get both, but I don’t feel like shelling out the money for it.

In any case, puffy, chunky sneakers were all the rage back in the day. Case in point–Bruno and his crew’s sneakers.

There are many routes you can go with ’90s sneakers–you can go to Nike, Fila, Reebok, and several other brands to get that right ’90s look. I chose to go with Reebok, since Reeboks had been my sneaker of choice in childhood (or, rather, my parents’ sneaker of choice for me.)

The Men’s Classics EX-O-FIT Clean Hi S and the Women’s Classics Freestyle Hi has that ’90s look down. To me, these sneakers are unisex, since a foot’s a foot. Also, Reebok tends to give the men’s sneakers more of a classic ’90s look, whereas the women’s side focuses more on fashion colors (too much more, I think). But regardless of which way you go, Reebok knows that its audience loves the early ’90s silhouette that made the brand famous, and it keeps that silhouette going, even in some of their more modern shoes.

After you get your ’90s wardrobe down, all you got to do is get some gold doorknockers or a chunky gold necklace, and you’ll be dripping in finesse, too.

Shukri Lawrence’s story should inspire all of us to live our truths to the fullest. The 18-year-old queer Palestinian artist and designer is expressing his full self amid conservative mindsets and Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Just a fraction of that kind of adversity would be enough to break some. But Lawrence has perservered and has created a clothing brand, tRASHY CLOTHING, that seems like it would be right up M.I.A.’s street. If you look at how he’s presented his clothing on his site–which features photography with a collage aesthetic–plus the critiques of excess and material wealth woven into his designs, you’d wonder how long it will take before someone like M.I.A.–who is always about post-post-modern kitsch and art school sensibilities–wears some of his pieces.

Matthew Whitehouse interviewed Lawrence for I-D. Here are three big moments from the interview.

On growing up in Israeli-occupied Palestine, including his family telling him to tell strangers they were Jordanian for safety:

“I only understood the significance of all of tthat when I grew older, experiencing the conflict daily. You can feel the tension fear, and pain in the air of Jerusalem. I try every day to stay away from trouble because I know I will regret the outcome.”

On how he keeps the willpower to keep creating and being himself amid danger::

“As long as you surround yourself with people that inspire you to keep going then you’re safe. In terms of societal expectations within my community, it’s hard to express myself freely in public because I live in a conservative place. This is where the internet comes in as a safe place for me to express myself with no censorship.”

“I’m trying to showcase the hidden, the misrepresented and the creatives of the Middle East. We aren’t all war and terror, we have a lot to say, we have experiences and stories to share, cultures to celebrate and most importantly an ambition for life.

Plus size fashion can seem like it’s stuck in a rut. Either it’s all wrap dresses, something pin-up, or something bodycon. It’s not that these kinds of styles aren’t cool; wrap dresses are great for every figure, there’s nothing like the classic pin-up look, and if you are confident in your body, there’s no reason you shouldn’t wear body-conscious clothing. But not everyone fits in these three modes of dress–some of us are more streamlined in our approach to fashion. Some of us are minimalists. Fashion is only beginning to address the minimalist plus size fashionista, but thankfully, there are some plus size fashion bloggers that are paving the way for minimalist plus size fashion.

Toronto-based fashion blogger Franceta Johnson is a “multi-hypenate creative” who is “passionate about all things art design style self-love & aforcentrism.” Johnson has been featured in tons of outlets and brands, including Elle, ASOS, Buzzfeed, Cosmopolitan, The Cut, Flare, Essence, Refinery 29, Seventeen, The Huffington Post, Teen Vogue and Who What Wear.

South West London-based Callie Thorpe wrote that her blog started as a diet diary in 2012, a time “when I felt pretty low about myself, desperate to lose weight and obsessed with dieting[.] I was in a bad playce and truly convinced I would never be successful at the weight I was.” She recreated her blog after having an epiphany about how negativity wasn’t helping her life. Two blogs later, calliethorpe.com acts as a place to be “just apologetically me to share both my blog but also a portfolio of my achievements throughout the years.”

Nicolette Mason, who lives between New York and Los Angeles, works as a brand strategist and consultant for beauty, fashion, and lifestyle brands as well as a contributing writer for Refinery29, Teen Vogue and Glamour. She was the contributing editor for Marie Claire between 2011 to 2016.

Mason has been featured on The Today Show, New York Live, Good Morning America, The New York Times, Time Out New York, Vogue Italia, New York Magazine, Teen Vogue, Lucky Magazine, Elle Decor and more. She also partnered with Target for the launch of plus-size brand Ava & Viv, and with ModCloth and Addition Elle to co-design collections.

London-based Danielle Vanier writes that her blog is meant to “empower you and to inspire you to feel confident through your choices in clothing and accessories.”

“I want to help inspire you to feel confident about your body (what ever size/shape you are) and to show you that there are beautiful clothes out there, no matter what size you happen to be,” she writes. “… [I]f I can help at least one person feel great about themselves; then I know I have done a good job!”

Vanier has been featured in Evans and on Buzzfeed, Vogue Italia, Elle Girl Taiwan, New Look, IGIGI and more.

Nova Scotia-based Musemo Handahu is one half of Lion Hunter, run by both Musemo and her brother Tendai. Musemo rebranded her site, Curvy Geekery, after being inspired by her last name, which means “lion hunter,” and after wanting to “take a bigger step twoards a platform that encapsulated more of who she is.”

Lion Hunter is “primarily a singular narrative of Musemo’s view of style,” which includes living “by the essence of her last name, hunting for the majestic in herself and in everyting she comes across.”

Musemo has worked with brands like Tim Hortons, Prince Edward Island, Le Château of Montréal, Ford, Ontario, Calvin Klein, Lacoste, Vince Camuto, DSW, Make Up Forever, Nine West, H&M, Forever 21, Old Navy, Michael Kors, U.S.-based plus-sized fashion brand Eloquii, Samsung, VitaminWater, and many more. She can also be seen in Essence Magazine, The Huffington Post, and Fashion Magazine.

Who else would you add to this list? Give your opinions in the comments section below!

Need some Christmas present ideas? Thanks to Shop + Hire PR, you can get some gift-giving out of the way while helping Puerto Rico continue to heal from the effects of Hurricane Maria.

Shop + Hire PR is an initiative created by nonprofit Colmena66 to help the businesses of Puerto Rico get back on their feet. Colmena66 head Denise Rodríguez told NBC News that the diaspora–Puerto Ricans who live off the island and on the mainland–were calling and texting to know how they could help.

“They actually asked how we can shop local entrepreneurs online,” she said.

Shop + Hire PR has more than just apparel stores–there are companies that sell food, candles and home goods, jewelry, and there are also freelancers and small businesses that specialize in copywriting, consulting, video production, marketing, photography, web design, industrial design, events, and more.

I took a look at some of the apparel stores and came back with some cool items, most of them centering around a very personal theme for me–the early ’90s, pastel aesthetic that not only defined my childhood and early memories of South Florida (where I was born and lived for the first year of my life before my family moved back to Alabama, as well as the place of many family vacations), but has gone on to define much of the designs I use in my web presence. When I ran my first site, Moniqueblog, during the early-to-mid ’00s, I kept a pastel pink-and-blue theme:

And even now, I have pink and blue as part of JUST ADD COLOR’s scheme, albeit more neon. Those two colors–plus the entire late ’80s art deco aesthetic that’s present throughout Miami–seem to sum up the feeling of South Florida in a nutshell; it’s tropical, it’s beachy, it’s laid back (to an extent–let’s not get me started on how Miami can be too crunk at times), and every day is summer. Even when you’re depressed (like I was when I lived in Miami for three years recently), you’ll still find something uplifting in seeing the sun on a daily basis and having the ocean just a few miles (or, since I lived by Biscayne Bay, mere steps) away.

With that said, let’s get to the finds.

The perfect pastel shirt

apparel brand Luca has many upscale pieces, including this pastel plaid shirt. The “Just Love” shirt has all of my favorite pastel colors in it, and the cut of it looks just right for a shirt that can be dressed up and dressed down.

Just Love Shirt | Luca | $190

Saved by the Bell in earring form

It’s too bad I don’t have pierced ears, or I’d totally buy these earrings without hesitation. These earrings are part of the “Peaches and Cream” collection at Aguja Local, which sells clothing as well as awesome jewelry like these. These polymer clay earrings feature the classic early ’90s squiggles that shows like Saved by the Bell are known for. Coupled with the pastel purples, pinks, peaches and blues, these earrings are tailor made for those of us who love living in that cool, colorful aesthetic.

Artist Allison Holdridge has tons of amazing prints featuring the icons of the tropics, the palm tree. This particular print, “Atomic Palm,” speaks the most to me thanks to its conjuction of bold brights and soft pastels. Combined with the graphic treatment of the palm frond itself, this print makes a declarative statement about paradise on earth.

Atomic Palm print | Allison Holdridge | $25

What cool things have you found thanks to Shop + Hire PR? Let me know in the comments section!

High-impact, minimalist fashion is one area that plus size fashion hasn’t gotten right yet. So often, the focus is on accentuating hips and boobs, when some people just like utilizing clean lines and color (or the lack of) to create a fashion statement. Enter Universal Standard, Danielle Brooks and their collaborative Tria collection.

Universal Standard is probably the only inclusive fashion brand that’s addressing the lack of minimalist style for plus sizes, style that is usually geared towards smaller ladies. Brooks loved this about the company, and decided to go with them for her first capsule collection.

“The reason I chose Universal Standard to be the first company that I design for is because they symbolize the fact that all women, no matter their shape or size, want and deserve to wear beautifully made, fashion forward clothing. They stand for everything I believe in,” she said to PeopleStyle.

For the collection, Brooks, designed three pieces with a particular brief in mind: “If you could design three pieces that you always wished you had in your closet, but could never find, what would they be?”

Brooks decided on an upscale pair of overalls, a shirt dress, and an oversize cowl sweater.

“The overalls were a no brainer. For years I have looked for a pair of overalls that weren’t too baggy in the crotch, that presented some type of wow factor and that weren’t too long in the body. This one will be sure to satisfy every woman who has felt like me,” she said.

“The shirt was inspired by one of my fashion icons, Solange Knowles,” she said. “Too often, I’m not able to wear the cool unique statement pieces that I see because they never run in my size. This piece will have people asking you, ‘excuse me, where did you get that?!”

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About Monique

Need a race/culture writer for your website or looking for a pop culture expert to interview on race and culture in entertainment? Email me at monique@colorwebmag.com or tweet/DM me @moniqueblognet or @COLORwebmag!

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